


Don’t Strike Out With Her

by justalesbeanlover



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Nicoles parents are dead, Slow Burn, Softball, as always, but they were nice, eliza and rosita got sum going on, eliza is her adopted sister, nicole is just really hot, there be smut, waverly flirts a lot, wynonna getting freaky with it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:15:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29658807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justalesbeanlover/pseuds/justalesbeanlover
Summary: Nicole and Waverly end up going to the same college and playing softball together. Fair warning, i don’t know much about the sport but there aren’t many softball fics so you’re welcome.This is my first story on A03 so be nice please.Sorry for the slow burn but when it catches, it’s going up like a wildfire.
Relationships: Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 15
Kudos: 88





	1. The One Where They Leave Home

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This is the beginning of a fix that I have started writing. I hope you enjoy. Imma make a playlist for the fics i write to listen to while reading so i’ll post that with the next chapter.

Sitting on the roof of her grandparents house, Nicole watched the sun dip below the horizon for what would be the last time for a while. Tomorrow she is leaving for Oklahoma for her freshman year. She really didn’t quite know what to expect from this new school. She had gotten so used to her high school routine that she knew it was going to be interesting adjusting to the new scene that was Oklahoma. She hadn’t been on that side of the country since she was 10 when her grandparents took her in. Now she lives in Ohio. It was a rather wet state with a shit ton of snow. Too much snow if you asked Nicole. But that would all change tomorrow. 

“Hey Sweetheart! Dinner is ready!” her Grandma called from the ground. 

“Coming!” she yelled back. Nicole slipped back into the window and into her room and went downstairs. Her grandfather was sitting at the table already, waiting for his granddaughters. Once he saw Nicole come down the stairs, he smiled wide at her.

“You excited for tomorrow, slugger? It’s a big day.” her grandfather asked. Nicole had taken on the nickname after her first softball game when she was 8. Then, she could barely hit the ball. Now, she was #1 draft pick over the country. It seems like only yesterday she was sitting at a conference table with different college hats set in front of her. It wasn’t a big surprise that she had picked Oklahoma. The whole US knew that was her dream school. What did come as a surprise was that her best friend and sister, Eliza, who had played with her since day one, was also choosing Oklahoma. They were going together. Eliza was like the sister Nicole never had. Eliza even lived with her and her grandparents. She was adopted by the Haughts when she was 7. She was in the foster system and they wanted to get her out of it. When they died in a crash when both Eliza and Nicole were 10, Nicole’s grandparents took the both in with open arms. 

“Yeah I guess I am. I’m gonna miss this place though, as well as you guys.” she replied with a sad smile.

“Well it’s a good thing i’m going with you then sis!” Eliza said a little too enthusiastically as she clapped Nicole on the shoulder. “Maybe I can finally get you a girl too.”

“Shut up would you.” Nicole scowled at Eliza and pushed her hand off her shoulder. Eliza punched her arm in response. 

“You two! Cut it out!” their grandmother said from the kitchen while putting the finishing touches on her lasagna.

“Well that doesn’t sound like that bad of an idea really. You have been quite moppy lately after the whole Shae thing.” her grandfather said to her. 

“Ugh please don’t bring up my pitiful love life pops.” Nicole rolled her eyes at his protests. Eliza and her sat down at the table and waited for their grandmother to come out with the food. 

“I’m just saying. It’s been what… a year and a half now. Maybe it’s time to get back out there. Find a nice girl to see.” her grandfather insisted.

“Stop patronizing your grand baby Hank.” Nicole’s grandmother said as she walked into the dining room with the lasagna. “How are you two feeling about this upcoming season though?” 

“I’m pumped! This is going to be such an awesome year.” Eliza said, scooping some food onto her plate.

“I’m excited to get to the big leagues. It feels like my whole life has been leading up to this moment.” Nicole said getting her own food as well. “ I just wish they were here to see it.”

“Yeah me too.” Eliza said, energy finishing with the mention of her and Nicole’s parents. No matter how short they were in her life, Eliza still considered them her parents. 

“Don't worry girls, they're proud of you. I know it for sure.” pops said.

“Yeah I know pops, I just wish I could see it.” Eliza said.

“Yeah.” Nicole agreed.

The Haughts died in a car crash when Nicole and Eliza were 10 years old. They were all in the car, singing along to “Build Me Up Buttercup” while driving home from one of their softball games. A drunk driver ran the red light and crashed into the car, flipping it multiple times before finally resting upside down in the middle of the intersection. Both James and Kacy Haught, their parents, died on impact. At least, that’s what people told them. Eliza hit her head on the widow and was knocked out so she doesn’t remember much of anything. Nicole however, was awake the entire time. She felt them get hit, flip several times, and felt the bone in her leg snap when it broke. When the firefighters finally pulled her out of the car, she was bleeding out from glass shards that were in her abdomen. She died 3 times in the hospital that night. She was a fighter though. Eliza broke her left arm and had a really bad concussion. Still to this day, she’ll lose her train of thought and has to take a second to collect her thoughts. 

It was hard for both girls. It still is. Softball really pulled them out of it though. Nicole is a catcher and a damn good one at that. She is a master batter. In her senior year, she had 34 home runs for the season, more than any in the country. She was the best of the best and every college that had a name in softball wanted her. She got offers from UCLA, LSU, Washington and Florida. Overall, she chose Oklahoma though. It was her dream to play for the Sooners. She had posters all up on her wall of the field and of the mascot and of the different women she looked up to that played for Oklahoma. She was a die hard fan. And now, she would be a Sooner.

“Yo Nic, did you see that the chick from Canada signed for Oklahoma too?” Eliza asked, looking over at Nicole.

“Which one?” Nicole asked back.

“The pitcher. Uhhh i think her name is Earp. has an older sister already on the team that’s a right fielder.”

“Oh you mean Waverly? Yeah I saw.” Nicole was always up to date on who was signing with who. So far, the Oklahoma team included herself- Catcher, Eliza- 3rd Base, Waverly Earp- Pitcher, Wynonna Earp- Right Fielder, Rosita Bustillos- Left Fielder, Mercedes Gardener- 1st Base, Chrissy Nedley- 2nd Base, Rachel Valdez- Shortstop, and Charlie Davenport- Center Fielder.

“She’s like literally the best pitcher i’ve ever seen. That girl puts max heat behind every pitch and you’re gonna be her catcher.” Eliza sounded excited for her sister. “If she didn’t live in Canada, she would probably be #2 draft pick in the country. Right behind you.” 

Eliza didn’t have to reiterate this all to Nicole. She knew everything about Waverly. At least as a pitcher. She had been watching her, hoping to whatever god there was that one day she would get to catch for her. She’s watched every tape she can find of the girl. Eliza called it stalking, she called it being prepared. Though, she didn’t have to keep up to date with her instagram to be prepared. So, maybe she was stalking a little bit. 

“Yeah I know. All this time I thought I was gonna have to play against her. That’s why I've been watching her so closely. Guess not though.” Nicole smiled at the thought of her and the best pitcher ‘round being a team and bringing down the house. This was definitely gonna be one hell of a college experience. She really didn’t know then how much though.

  
  
  


“Come on Babygirl! We’re gonna be late!” Wynonna called from downstairs. Waverly huffed in annoyance and shouted down to her sister that she would be down in a second. Looking around her room, she sighed heavily. She was finally leaving for college. This was a big step for her really. Besides Wyn, she was the first Earp to go to college so a lot was riding on her shoulders even though her sister was already in college. No one really expected anything from Wyn though. It was Waverly everyone kept an eye on. Everyone always had something to say about her. Whether it was “I can’t believe she’s the top pitcher right now” or “Are her shorts too short to be acceptable”, someone always had something to say. She was expected to keep a perfect image in Purgatory. But now, she was going to college. And she decided that right when she closed her bedroom door, she was leaving all that bullshit behind and being whoever she wanted to be. Which she didn’t really know who that was yet, but she sure as hell was ready to find out. 

As Waverly walked down the stairs of the homestead, she couldn’t help but smile at the promise she had just made to herself. She grabbed her bags that were in the hall and put them in the back of her red jeep. Wynonna put her stuff in the back of her truck. Wyn would be driving with Rosita, who they picked up before leaving town, and Waverly would drive with Chrissy, who they picked up as well. It would be about a 26 hour drive, so all four girls were in for a long one. After picking up Rosita and Chrissy, the four were on the road to Oklahoma. 

“Omg Waves! How excited are you to be going to college cause i’m freaking out right now!” Chrissy squealed from the passenger seat. 

“I know right! I’m so excited! God, I really just want to get back to practicing though. I weirdly miss it.” 

“Relax Waves. You’re not gonna lose your perfect physique in the 2 days it takes to get there.” Chrissy hit Waverly’s shoulder. “Plus this gives us time to discuss all the fresh meat that is gonna be on the team. Have you looked at the roster yet?” 

“Yeah I’ve skimmed it. Remind me who everyone is.” Waverly asked, looking at Chrissy before shifting her focus back to the road.

“Alright so there’s Valdez, she's a shortstop and hella good at bat. Shapiro, 3rd base, incredibly sexy.” Chrissy was suddenly slapped on the arm by Waverly. “What? It’s true.” Waverly just glared at her. Chrissy went through all the team and what they played, sometimes adding in little bits of info about them. “ And that brings us to Haught, your catcher. And let me tell you, her name doesn’t lie. Have you seen this chicks insta? Look at this.” Chrissy held up her phone to Waverly, a picture of Nicole shirtless and sweaty and the screen with the caption “Practice was hard, but my abs are harder;)” Waverly just looked at the picture, panicking. She didn’t know where to look. At her abs, at her dimples, her cheeky smile, the sweat dripping down her chest. It was a full on struggle for Waverly’s brain that’s for sure. “Waves eyes on the road.” Chrissy said after pulling the phone away.

“That’s Nicole Haught? The #1 catcher in the league and #1 over all? Jesus.” Waverly said, suddenly feeling sweat of her own falling down her chest. 

“I know right. But she’s wrong.” Chrissy said.

“What do you mean she’s wrong?”

“What’s harder is the wall I want her to fu-“ 

“Ok ok ok! I get the memo!” Waverly yelled. Chrissy chuckled at her best friends now flushed cheeks. 

“I’m just saying. It would feel really nice to have her pin me down to a bed.” Chrissy said as she scrolled through Nicole’s page and continued to drool over her phone.

_ “Yeah It would be nice.”  _ Waverly thought to herself.

  
  
  


Nicole put the rest of her bags on the moving van and sent it off toward Oklahoma where her and Eliza's apartment would be waiting. Their grandparents had decided they didn’t want them staying in a dorm and paid for an apartment for them. There were four rooms in the apartment so they would have room for friends to move in with them if they found any. If not, they’d use them as offices to do school work. Eliza came up behind Nicole as she watched the van drive off. 

“Ready, Haught?” 

“As i’ll ever be.”

Both girls climbed onto their motorcycles and put on their helmets. They decided that instead of flying to Oklahoma, they’d drive down together and see the sights on the way. The motorcycles had belonged to their father who had a bunch of different cars and bikes that he owned. On their 16th birthdays, they got to pick from the lot that he owned and keep it as their own. Of course they both pick bikes. With a final wave to their grandparents and a thumbs up to each other, they started their bikes and headed out towards the start of something new.


	2. The One Where They First Meet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends. I hope you’re enjoying so far. I have a couple chapters i’m gonna release today so be ready. Here is the playlist for this fic. I’ll be adding more songs as i write but it’s a mixture of different songs so enjoy.
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6aF5DrZ7VLTl5699Ss3bQF?si=d7xp-zDTRxWNh6bV9tNL6A

Nicole and Eliza got to their apartment on Friday after leaving on Wednesday. They wanted to see more on the way but they knew that they had an orientation dinner with the rest of the team Friday night, so they reframed from staying too long in one city. The truck with all of their stuff had broken down somewhere in Missouri so all of their stuff wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow but the apartment had most of the essentials. Couches, beds, and such were all there already, they just didn’t have any clothes or any belongings, except for the stuff they had in their backpacks. 

“What the hell are we supposed to wear to this dinner if we don’t have any of our clothes?” Eliza said, frustrated that the truck wasn’t going to be here until the next day. 

“Let’s just go shopping and find something to wear. I’m sure it’s not really that big of a deal anyway.” Nicole said, grabbing her keys and Eliza’s. 

Both girls headed for the mall to find something acceptable to wear to the dinner. Truth be told, Nicole was extremely nervous about meeting the ready of the team. It took her years to open up to her high school team, and now she would have to start right at the beginning again. At least she had Eliza. Nicole was looking through a stack of button up shirts when someone bumped into her from behind. 

“Hey watch where you’re goi-“ she was cut off when she turned around to see a gorgeous woman, about 5’4”, with long, brown hair and the most beautiful hazel eyes Nicole had ever seen. “Oh… uh h- hi.”

“Oh my god i’m so sorry! I’m sorry I wasn't looking. I should have been paying attention. Holy shit you’re tall.” The mysterious woman said, looking up to gaze at the taller woman in front of her. 

“Heh yeah, you'll be surprised how many times a day I get that. And don’t apologize, it’s fine, really.” Nicole smiled her dimpled smile at the girl. 

“Well uhh I gotta go. I’m really sorry again. I’ll see you around.” And just like that, the girl slipped off.

“I sure hope so.” Nicole said to herself.

  
  
  
  
  
  


“Holyshitholyshitholyshit. That girl was breathtaking.” Waverly’s thoughts screamed at her. She was walking away from the tall, red headed girl trying not to look to shooken up by the exchange. Waverly saw a flash of blonde hair and briskly walked toward her friend.

“Hey did you find something to wear for tonight? Wait. What’s wrong with your face?” Chrissy asked her friend, noticing the redend cheeks. 

“Let me see that picture again that you showed me in the car.” Waverly asked quickly. She had a suspicion, but wanted to confirm it before she went blabbing to Chrissy. Chrissy gave her friend a weird look, but pulled out her phone and scrolled down until she found the picture she was looking for. Waverly snatched the phone from her and looked at it. “Oh my god it’s her.”

“What? What’s her?” Chrissy was confused beyond reason. 

“I just ran into Nicole a minute ago over there.” Waverly pointed to the table where Nicole was still standing, now talking to a tall blonde.

“Holy shit! She’s even hotter in person!” 

“I know! That’s what I was thinking!” Chrissy gave her friend a sly smile. She watched as her friend ogled over the redhead, as she went to pay for her belongings and left the store. 

“Oh I know that look.” Chrissy whispered to her friend. “That’s the ‘I want to be under that person’ look.” 

“I do not have that look.” Waverly protested.

“Yeah, you do. And even if you don’t, you didn’t say you didn’t not want to be under her.” 

“I- Well- Chrissy just-“ Waverly tried to answer her friend, but couldn’t find any words. Her friend was right. She did want to be under her, writhing and screaming and- what the hell is she doing? She just met this girl. She didn’t even meet her, just ran into her. This is crazy. “Ok maybe I do but you don’t have to bring it up.” 

“Bring what up?” Wynonna said from behind the two girls. “ Why are you two hiding like that behind a rack? Are we spying on someone?” Wynonna crouched down a bit behind the girls, trying to see if she can find the person they’re looking at.

“It’s too late. She already left.” 

“Chrissy! Shut up!” Waverly smacked her friend on the arm, trying to save herself from anymore embarrassment today.

“Have you guys found any clothes yet, cause we’re gonna be late if we don’t go.” Rosita said, coming up behind the three. 

“Yeah let’s go.” Waverly said, pulling Chrissy to the register to pay for their clothes. 

  
  
  


Pulling up to the restaurant, Nicole took off her hemelt and placed it in the saddle bag, Eliza doing the same. She had decided on a black button up shirt that was fitted, showing off all of her muscles and curves. She paired the shirt with black skinny jeans and some converse. Getting off the bike, she rolled up her sleeves, showing off her toned forearms and the scar running up the inside of her left arm. A reminder of the car crash that took everything from her. A piece of metal from the car had scraped her arm and cut rather deep. The scar was somewhat faded now, but was still very noticeable. 

The two girls walked up to the door and went inside, finding a couple girls that were sat at a rectangular table. Both found their names on their seats and sat down. They were sad to see that they wouldn’t be beside each other, but were still pretty close. Just across the table, one seat down. Then, the beautiful girl that ran into her today at the mall, came into view. She caught sight of Nicole and smiled, sitting down beside her. Waverly was wearing a mid thigh height red dress with a v neck, showing off quite a bit of skin and cleavage. enough to hitch Nicole’s breath in the back of her throat. 

“Hey stranger.” Waverly said to Nicole. “I didn’t realize it was you I ran into at the mall. I’m Waverly. Waverly Earp.” Waverly stuck out her hand.

“I know.” Nicole said back, taking the small hand in front of her. It was soft and cold. Electric sparks went off in Nicole as soon as their hands met in a subtle grip.

“You do?” Waverly questioned.

“Of course I do. You're the best pitcher in the country. I recognized you in the mall too, but I wanted to see if you knew me.” Waverly just looked at Nicole, smiling wide. She finally realized that their hands were still interlocked and dropped Nicole’s hand, bending her head down to hide a blush creeping onto her face and neck. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Waverly.” 

“You as well.” Waverly smiled so hard that her cheeks began to ache. Just then, coach Gus walked into the room.

“Welcome ladies! Wait as you can see, I’ve seated you with some people you don’t know. Yet. I want everyone on this team to be more than teammates. I want you to be family. That being said, take any free time you have in your lives to hang out with each other and get to know each other. This is gonna be a long four years so I expect all of you to at least respect each other. You hear?” All the girls responded with a yes ma’am. “ Great! Then enjoy dinner and get acquainted with each other. Especially Nicole and Waverly. You two are the foundation of this team. I need you two to trust each other and to bond.” The girls all looked at Nicole and Waverly. 

“Not any pressure at all right?” Nicole said sarcastically.

“Well i don’t think it will be too hard. You’ve already been one of the kindest people I've ever met.” 

“Are you flirting with me Miss Earp?” Nicole showed her dimples big and bright.

“What if i was?” Waverly winked at Nicole. The dinner consisted of Waverly and Nicole sharing small stories of games and introducing each other to their friends. All in all, the dinner went quite well. By the end of the night, both girls were desentaly acquainted with each other. 

Nicole, Waverly, Eliza, Wynonna, Chrissy, and Rosita were the last six out of the restaurant. Eliza was the one to suggest that they all drive down to the field to get a look at it. All agreed that it was a wonderful idea and they headed out of the restaurant.

“Hey Nicole? Would you mind if i rode with you?” Waverly asked, wanting a couple minutes alone with Nicole just to be alone with her. 

“Uhh i actually don’t have a car. I have a motorcycle but i do have an extra helmet if you want to ride with me.”

“Yeah sure. Sounds fun. Chrissy, you can drive the jeep to the field.”

“Oh no need. I’m riding with Wynonna because Rosita is riding with Eliza and she doesn’t want to drive alone for some reason.” Chrissy said back to her friend. “Have fun!”

“Alright then. Let’s go.” Waverly said to Nicole, putting on the helmet that she had just been handed. Nicole slipped her own helmet on and then got on the bike. Waverly got behind her, bodies pressing together, as she looped her arms around Nicole’s waist, settling her hands on her tight stomach. She could feel the abs through the tight shirt. Nicole started up the bike and before she took off, said...

“Hold on tight.” 

Waverly’s grip tightened on Nicole, tiny hands grabbing at Nicole’s button up. Heat flooded her body, which was surprising seeing as it was rather cold outside tonight.She pressed her helmet into Nicole’s back as they drove to the field. 

Nicole parked in the lot connected to the stadium and got off the bike after Waverly. The sudden loss of Nicole’s body heat sent a chill through Waverly.

“Are you cold? Here.” Nicole reached into her saddle bag and pulled out her leather jacket. She had put it in there in case she got cold on the way back to the apartment. She draped the jacket over Waverly’s shoulders, pulling it around her body. Waverly was engulfed by the sheer size of the jacket, pulling it close to her so she could smell the vanilla dipped donut scent radiating off of it. “Come on. Let’s get in there.” 

The two girls walked onto what was now their field. All 6 just looked around in awe of it and each other. They couldn’t believe that they were all finally here. Their dreams were coming to fruition. It’s been a long time coming for all the women standing in the dewy grass. 

“We did it bitches!!!” Wynonna screamed to all the girls as they all erupted into a mix of screams and shouts and hysterical laughing. After a while, only Nicole, Eliza, Chrissy and Waverly were left on the field. 

“Well, it’s been a night and we have practice early in the morning. Care to drive me home Liz?” Chrissy looked over to the blonde and smiled. 

“Of course. Anything for you.” Eliza replied with a wink. Nicole knew that Eliza wasn’t making it home tonight. The whole night, the two had been all over each other. You could tell that they were VERY attracted to each other. Just how attracted neither knew just quite yet.

“Come on. Let’s get you back to your place.” Nicole said, starting to walk off the field. 

“Wait. They're probably doing some very… unholy… things that I don't wanna hear. Do you mind if we just walk around for a while?” 

“No. Not at all. In fact, I saw a frozen yogurt place down the street. We can walk to it if you’d like.” Nicole suggested. She was glad that the two blondes were up to something unruly so that she didn’t have to leave the beautiful brunettes side just yet.

“Sounds perfect.” Waverly smiled brightly at Nicole. Nicole reached her hand out for Waverly to take, and the girl took it with hesitation, walking off the field and down the street to the froyo place Nicole suggested. After getting their sweet treat, the girls walked around the downtown area, eating and discussing the next day with practice and their two best friends going at it. They two laughed at the thought. Soon enough, they found themselves sitting on a park bench looking up at the stars and listening to the violinist playing about 50 feet away from them. It couldn’t have been more perfect really. Well… it could have been. But they weren’t ready for that. Yet…


	3. The One Where Waverly Sleeps Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short Chapter but a nice one none the less. We learn a bit of both Nicole’s background, which will come into play more throughout the story, as well as Waverly’s who i will touch more on in the future.

After a while of listening to the violin and watching the stars while sharing stories about big games and tuff losses, Waverly yawned wide.

“As much fun as this is, we have to be up early. We should really go. Nicole said, standing and holding out her hand for Waverly to take. The girl climbed to her feet, only to stumble into Nicole and be caught by her. 

“A little more tired that I thought I guess.” Waverly said with a sleepy chuckle. 

“Here. Climb on my back. I’ll carry you to the bike.” Nicole offered, squatting down a bit for Waverly to jump on. Once she did, she started off towards the motorcycle and carried Waverly the whole way, trying not to think about the heat rushing throughout her body at being so close to this gorgeous woman. Nicole set Waverly down next to the bike and helped her onto it, giving her a helmet. She slipped on her own helmet and got onto the bike, starting it up and heading off to the dorms Waverly had mentioned she lived in earlier in the night. 

Once they arrived, Nicole saw that Eliza bike was still here. She thought for a moment, then turned around to Waverly. 

“Looks like Eliza and Chrissy are still at it up there. Is it ok if i take you back to my place? There is an extra bedroom you can sleep in and then i’ll drive you back here in the morning for practice?” Nicole was nervous asking this if Waverly. She didn’t want her to get the wrong impression and think that Nicole was going to take advantage of her. That’s why Nicole was so surprised when Waverly just gave a sleepy nod yes and said, “Yeah, that sounds nice” letting out a big yawn. 

Pulling up to her shared apartment, Nicole noticed that Waverly was drifting in and out of consciousness. She carefully got off the bike and picked up the small, asleep girl and carried her up to her apartment. Waverly’s little fist was gripping into Nicole’s button up shirt as they climbed the stairs while her other hand was placed just on the side of Nicole’s neck, her fingers ever so slightly brushing against Nicole’s jaw. Her head was snuggled deep into Nicole’s chest. She swore she had never seen anything more adorable in her life. It took everything in her to not lean down just ever so slightly, and press a kiss to the small girls forehead. Nicole somehow managed to put Waverly over her shoulder while she unlocked the door and walked into the apartment without waking the sleeping girl.After closing the door behind her, she repositioned Waverly back into a bridal style carry and walked her into her own room. The other two rooms didn’t have any beds in them, which she knew when she proposed the idea to Waverly that she come sleep at her place, so she laid the girl in her own bed. She pulled the covers up to Waverly’s shoulders and watched as she sighed and smiled in her sleep at the new found warmth. Nicole smiled to herself as well before walking out to the living room and flopping down on the couch. She didn’t even bother changing her clothes, she knew she was too tired. 

The next morning, Waverly woke up to the amazing smell of… donuts? Wait. Vanilla donuts? Shit! Nicole! Waverly sat up with a start and looked around the room. She was still in her dress and Nicole’s leather jacket. The room wasn’t decorated at all. It was more barren than the fields at the back of the homestead. ‘Weird. Not much of a decoration type I guess’ Waverly thought to herself. She got out of the bed and made her way into the big center room that had a living room and kitchen all in one big room. She looked at the couch and saw the too tall for the couch redhead lying down on her back. For the first time, Waverly saw Nicole’s left arm hanging off the couch and saw the scar. She walked over to the still asleep girl and took the arm in her hands as she sat on the side of the couch. Her fingers traced over the scar that ran from Nicole’s wrist to her elbow crease. She did this for a while, not even noticing when the tall girl opened her eyes. 

“If you're wondering if I did that to myself, you don’t have to.” Waverly was startled by the sound and jumped a bit. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“What happened?” 

“Car crash. A piece of metal scrapped down my arm and I was left with that.” Nicole saw the worried look on Waverly’s face. “Don’t worry, honestly that’s not even the worst of what i got from that crash.” That didn’t seem to settle the small girl at all. 

“What else happened? If you don’t mind me asking.” Waverly’s fingers were still running up and down the scar.

“I broke my leg and had this big chunk of glass that flew into my abdomen.” Nicole said, brushing it off like it was nothing. It was something to her, but not as much as the something of losing her parents in that crash.

“Oh my god. Do you have a scar there too?” Waverly’s eyes were wide looking at Nicole. 

“Yeah. You wanna see?” Waverly just nodded her head yes. Nicole started from the top of her shirt and began to unbutton it. When she finally got to the last one, she pulled open her shirt to reveal the scar that ran almost diagonally across Nicole’s stomach. It was about 5 inches in length and wasn’t really too notable but it was still there. Waverly’s left hand drifted, of its own accord, to the scar, tracing over it and the tantalizing abs that were in full display in front of her.

“Does it hurt?” Her eyes were glued to Nicole’s abdomen. She willed herself to look away, but try as she might she just couldn’t. 

“It did but now it doesn’t. Although sometimes, i’ll wake up in the middle of the night and it will feel like it’s happening all over again. It feels like the glass just went in. It’s so weird. I asked my doctor about it once and he said that it was just my mind playing tricks on me but that there is no way to stop it.” Nicole didn’t know why she was confiding all of this into Waverly. Not even Eliza, her sister, knew about it. She didn’t like talking about the crash with her since it was the first real family she had ever gotten and she had just lost it.

Waverly looked up at Nicole, a single tear fell from her eye as she looked into brown pools. She couldn’t even begin to fathom how a girl as strong as Nicole, was really just as broken as she was deep down inside. She could tell there was something Nicole wasn’t saying but she didn’t say anything about it. She didn’t want to make Nicole uncomfortable. Nicole reached up with her left hand and wiped the tear off the tanned skin of the brunette, then cupped her cheek in her hand. Waverly leaned into the feeling and closed her eyes. Nicole leaned up and sat in a sitting position so she could lean her forehead against Waverly’s. The brunettes hand pressed into Nicole’s abs, still feeling at the scar. Both of their eyes were closed, they just enjoyed the feeling of being so incredibly close to someone for the first time in a while for each of them. Neither moved or wanted to move. This was perfect for them, right here. 

The moment was broken when Eliza ran into the apartment and slammed the door. The two girls sat on the couch and just stayed as they were, Eliza not even noticing them. 

“Come on you two we have practice in 30 minutes! Move your asses or coach is gonna kick ‘em!” Eliza called from her room as she started to but on her uniform and gear.

“I need to drive you back to your dorm.” Nicole whispered. For some reason, the two were still leaning against each other with their eyes closed. “I’m gonna go put on my gear really quick then we’ll go ok?” 

“Sounds good to me.” Waverly replied as they pulled away. They smiled at each other for a second and then Nicole got up and put on her uniform. They had picked up their stuff for softball when they got to Oklahoma yesterday including their new uniforms, jackets, hats, and all new decked out gear. Nicole was still gonna use her stuff from home but all her stuff was in the back of a moving van, hopefully to arrive by the time practice was over at 9:30 am. Nicole walked out of her room while tucking in her jersey into her pants, belt in her mouth. She grabbed her keys and the new jacket and looked to Waverly. 

“You ready?” She muffled towards, with the belt still in her mouth, the brunette. Waverly came up to her standing beside the door and took the belt from her mouth and slid it through the loops of Nicole’s softball pants. She put it through the buckle, tightening it. Nicole had basically lost the ability to do any basic human function, including breathing. She was dumbfounded. She couldn’t move. Waverly was looking into her eyes the entire time, smirk on her plump lips, just begging Nicole to kiss her breathless. 

Waverly got on her tiptoes and leaned into Nicole’s ear. “Ready.” she said. She pulled back, standing normally now. She could tell the effect she had and Nicole was subsequently heavy. She liked that. Probably more than she should. 

“Umm ye- yeah. Yes. Let’s go.” Nicole was barely able to choke out a response. She pulled the door open, and the two headed out for Waverly’s dorm. 


	4. The One Where They're Both Naked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You saw the title;) haha you guys are gonna hate me but maybe love me idk man

When the two got to Waverly’s dorm, Nicole stayed down stairs to wait for her. On the ride over Waverly had suggested that she drive them in her jeep to practice so that Nicole didn’t have to tie her bag with her bat, glove, and cleats to the bike. Nicole agreed so she waited outside for Waverly to come down. When she did, she had a bag with similar items to Nicole’s bag, on her shoulders and was wearing her uniform. The uniform they had been given was their home game uniforms. It was a blackish grey color with red accents. ‘Oklahoma’ was written across the front in red along with their number on the left side front and large print on the back with each girl’s last name above the number. Nicole was 7 and Waverly was 6. The under parts of the sleeves were red and the tops the grey colour. The pants were grey as well with a single, small red stripe going down the side, paired with red shin guards and a red belt. Their away uniforms would be the same style, but the main colour was white instead of grey. The top of the uniform sleeves and top of the shoulders were red, as were the socks that stuck out of the cleats. White pants, shin guards, and a red belt would complete the away game uniform, but those wouldn’t be given to the girls until Monday since they had yet to arrive.

  
  


“Wow. And I thought I looked good in this uniform.” Nicole said. 

“I know right. My ass looks great in these.” Waverly giggled, turning to the side a bit to show off just how great her ass looked, and it looked good. “Come on. We’re gonna be late.” 

The two threw their bags into the trunk and got in the jeep. “You really do look great in that uniform, Nicole.” Waverly said as they got to the field. Nicole looked over at Waverly with a warm smile. 

“Thanks Waves. You do too.” Waverly blushed at the nickname. She loved the way it rolled off her tongue so easily. “Let’s go warm up.” Nicole said, climbing out of the jeep and grabbing her and Waverly’s bag. Waverly slipped out of the jeep and went to grab her bag from Nicole when the latter leaned the bag away from her. “Let me.” she said.

“How chivalrous of you. Thanks.” Waverly giggled at Nicole’s gentlewoman personality. Something about her was just so enticing and fun. Waverly felt drawn to the redhead for some unknown reason. Whatever it was, Waverly was glad that Nicole would be her catcher. Any chance she could get to spend time with this girl, she would take in a heartbeat.

Waverly and Nicole walked to the locker room and met up with the rest of the team. They put their stuff they wouldn’t need in their lockers and put on their cleats. Everyone went out on the field and started stretching warmups. 

“Alright girls, welcome to your first official practice being a Sooner. For all of those who were already on the team, welcome back. I’m excited for this year and this group. I have a really good feeling about this year girls, I really do. With that now out of the way, go do 20 laps around the field for Wynonna being late.” Gus said. The girls all collectively groaned, except for Nicole and Eliza, they just started running. Really fast. They were ahead of everyone with no signs of stopping for anyone. By lap 15, Eliza was slowing down a bit but Nicole kept power driving forward. 

“Damn, Haughtpants ever gonna slow down?” Wynonna said, coming up behind Waverly.

“No. She loves running. She runs all the time. She does it so much that she has gotten used to going for long periods of time. If she really wanted to, she could lap us all three times before we even finish one lap.” Eliza said from beside Waverly. “The only way I was keeping up with her earlier was because we used to do our training together. We would run 10 miles and then do weights and shit like that. Then I would drive home and she would run home.” 

“Damn. Overdoing it much.” Wynonna grunted. Waverly pushed her shoulder.

“Nah, it just helps her get out of her head. Sometimes being in her head for too long is dangerous.” Eliza said.

“Dangerous how?” Waverly had her moments when she went into her mind too. Sometimes it was really hard to pull her out. Not even Wynonna could sometimes. When she finally did, it would take a while.

“She just… thinks… a lot. Sometimes if she thinks too much, it’s really bad and she’ll get really quiet. Won’t talk to no one. Just shuts up. The last time she got too in her head, she did some… bad things.” Eliza tried to explain as much as she could without giving too much away. It wasn’t her story to tell. 

“What kind of bad things?” Now Wynonna was interested too. 

“Look guys, it’s not really my story to tell. It’s Nicole’s. I’m sure if you asked her, she wouldn't talk about it but that’s just because it takes a while for her to trust people. Just… don’t tell her i said anything. She doesn’t like talking about the past. It brings up too much for her. And for me.” Eliza then started to run faster and finish her laps.

After laps, the girls stretched their muscles to make sure they were ready to do extensive training for a couple hours. After stretching, they were paired off to do warm up throws back and forth. Waverly and Nicole were of course paired off together. 

“Hey so i was thinking. We need to get our pitch calls down soon so we can start really practicing. I was wondering if- well if you may- maybe wanted to go out to dinner or something so we can like get our signals down.” Nicole asked nervously.

“Are you asking me out on a date?” Waverly smirked.

“Shut up. I’m being serious.” Nicole also smirked, showing off her dimples. 

“Well if you're asking about studying call signals, then yes to that dinner.” Waverly responded. Gus called the team in to give them new instructions. 

“And what if i was asking you on a date. Hypothetically speaking.” Nicole asked. She didn’t even mean to say it out loud. It just popped in her head and she couldn’t help herself.

“Well, hypothetically speaking, I would say yes.” Waverly winked to Nicole, walking past her to the dugout and smacking Nicole’s ass with her glove.

Nicole just stood there in her place, watching as Waverly walked away with a little sway to her step. She couldn’t help but look at her perfectly round ass as she walked away.

“Haught! Move your ass and get over here!” Gus called the girl. Nicole ran over to the dugout. “Alright we’re doing scrimmage. Nicole, get your gear on. Waverly, warm your arm. Everyone else, you know what to do, so do it.” 

Nicole walked into the dugout and began to put her catcher's gear on. It was the new stuff that she had been given. It didn’t really fit her right since it was brand new and not broken in yet. She wished she had her own gear but it was on a truck god only knows where. She jogged out onto the field, helmet in hand.

“Hey, I've asked Gus to do calls since I know her signs, so just watch her ok?” Waverly said, before she started to walk over to the mound. 

“Right, got it.” Nicole replied, going to the plate and crouching down. Gus stood behind her to do calls. Nicole would say what ball she wanted Waverly to throw and Gus would signal that to Waverly. It worked well. It would have been better if Nicole and Waverly had their own calls but they didn’t yet. 

At the end of practice, Gus told all the girls they did a great job out on the field and that next practice was Monday after classes at 4:30. They sweat and dirt covered girls sauntered their way into the locker room. Some just grabbed their things and left, others took showers. Waverly walked over to Nicole while she was unting her cleats.

“Hey are you busy tonight?” she asked the redhead.

“No. Why?” 

“Instead of dinner, I was thinking we could just come back here and practice and make our calls then practice them as we go along.”

“Yeah that sounds good. What time?” Nicole asked.

“Meet here at 7:00?” 

“7 it is. Hey all my stuff that is on the moving truck is about to get to my apartment. Do you maybe wanna help me decorate?” Nicole didn’t want to part from the brunette just yet.

“Why is your stuff just now arriving?” 

“Truck broke down in Missouri.” 

“Ahhhhh that makes a lot more sense. I thought you just weren’t the decorating type.” Waverly giggled at the thoughts she had had this morning when she woke up in Nicole’s bed.

“Heh no way. This kid has so many posters that she had to start hanging them to the ceiling.” Eliza said, butting into the conversation. 

“Shut up that’s awesome.” Waverly laughed. Nicole just looked down, her cheeks red with embarrassment. “Hey i’m gonna go take a shower. Are you taking one too?” 

“Yeah. I’ll meet you by the jeep when I'm done since you’ll probably be done first.” Nicole said, starting to undo her belt.

“Good deal.” Waverly replied. She walked off toward her locker and took off her clothes, leaving her in a bra and underwear. She pulled a robe around her and grabbed a towel and her soaps then walked to the showers. Nicole did the same. The only open shower was the one right bext to Waverly’s, so she stepped in, hung up her robe, took off her undergarments, and got under the hot water. 

Although there were walls dividing the showers, they weren’t that tall. They were short enough to where Waverly could easily see over the edge. Not that she would look. But at one point, her eyes caught sight of the redhead's neck as she leaned her head back in the water to wash out the shampoo. Everything was in slow motion for the brunette. She watched as the soap ran down Nicole’s shoulders, neck and chest. Watched as Nicole closed her eyes and rubbed her fingers through her hair. She could even see just the tops of her breasts. Her breathing all but stopped in her lungs. She couldn’t help herself. What was she doing? She should stop starting. She should look away. Her thoughts were running so fast that she didn’t even hear her name being called.

“Waves.” Nicole said, looking at the glazed over look in Waverly’s eyes. What was wrong? Is she ok? “Waverly? Are you ok?” Nicole reached over the small wall and waved her hand in front of her face. Nothing happened. Nicole began to get worried. Without even thinking, she walked out from her shower, completely butt ass naked, and into Waverly’s. Nicole put both her hands on Waverly’s shoulders and turned her towards her. “Waves? Can you hear me? Waves.” 

“Huh w- what.” Waverly finally snapped out of her thoughts. If you’re asking yourself, ‘What was she thinking?’, trust me, you don’t wanna know. Or, maybe you do. Well, it was nothing short of Nicole pushing her against the criminally short wall between the showers and… well… fucking her until she couldn’t walk. But, you don’t wanna know that. 

“Waves, listen to me. Can you hear me?” Nicole looked deeply at Waverly. She was really scared. She didn’t know what was happening to her. She took a step closer, their bodies just centimeters away from touching, so much so in fact that a couple of times, they could have sworn their skin grazed each other. 

“Yeah. S- sorry. I guess i just zoned out for a second there.” Waverly looked around. No one else was there. Just them. “What happened?” 

“Well you were showering and then I looked over and you were looking at me so I said ‘like what yo-‘ never mind what i said, you didn’t hear it anyway. You had this glazed over look in your eyes and you weren’t responding so i got worried. Uhhh sorry by the way.” Nicole stepped back a bit, realizing how close they were. Forgetting for a second they were naked, she looked down, only to look straight back up and into Waverly’s eyes. “Sorry i uhh- i didn’t mean to uhh. Sorry i’ll just go.” 

Nicole started to turn around but was stopped by small fingers wrapping around her wrist. Waverly spun her around and enclosed her in a tight hug. It was weird but also kinda nice. Really nice actually. Their bodies fit so perfectly together. It was like two puzzle pieces finally coming together. At first, Nicole tensed at the hug. I mean, she was bareback fucking naked with a girl she low key had a crush on, hugging in a steamy locker room while hot water was running down and inbetween their bodies. Something straight out of ”50 Shades of Grey” if you asked me. 

“Sometimes I go places and get stuck there for a while. That is for bringing me back.” Waverly mumbled into Nicole’s neck. Nicole finally wrapped her arms around Waverly’s body, pulling her up a bit so Waverly was almost off the ground. Their breasts were melded together, their abdomens pushed up against each other. When they breathed, it was in sync. Their hearts were one. It was just them. 

“Of course Waves. I’ll always bring you back.” Nicole whispered into the soaked, brunette hair. They hugged for a while until the water turned cold. Waverly squealed at the sudden coldness she felt on her back and pushed herself all the way up against Nicole, trying to get away from the spray. 

“Coldcoldcoldcoldcold!” she shrieked. Nicole picked her up by the back of her thighs and pulled her out of the water. 

“I’ve got ya.” Nicole said. Nicole set Waverly back on the ground and grabbed her own robe and slipped it onto Waverly’s shoulders. “There. Better?” Nicole rubbed her hands up and down Waverly’s arms, trying to create friction and heat. The small girl opened the robe so her front was exposed and pulled Nicole back over to her, enveloping her into another hug.

“Uhhh you’re sooooooo warm.” Waverly laid her head on Nicole’s still naked body and pressed their skin together, trying to pull Nicole’s heat from her body. 

“Come on. Let’s get you dressed so you’ll feel better. Nicole released the girl from her arms and went over to the showers, turning them off. When she turned back, Waverly was by her locker, pulling on some fresh underwear and a bra. Nicole walked over to her own locker and put on fresh undergarments. She pulled on heat grey sweatpants, and an old high school softball jersey. She turned around and saw Waverly pulling on her tee shirt and walked over to her, bag in hand. She saw Waverly shudder with a chill and pulled out an old, black, hoodie from her bag. “Here. Put this on so you’ll warm up.” she said, handing Waverly the hoodie.

“Thank you. Could you go grab my robe and stuff from my shower please?” Waverly asked as she put on the hoodie. It was worn and way too big for her. It even looked like it would be a bit big on Nicole. It smelt of Nicole and her donut scent, but also of something else. Someone else. Like wood. Pine trees. She immediately felt warm and enclosed in the hoodie. As Nicole came back from the showers with her and Waverly’s things, she looked at the girl in her favorite hoodie. She looked amazing in it. “I think it’s just a bit too big.” Waverly said with a giggle.

“Here.” Nicole walked over to Waverly, set the stuff down on the bench, then turned back to the small girl. She grabbed the sleeve of the jacket and rolled it up, followed by the other. “There. All better?” 

“Perfect.” The warm smile that graced Waverly’s lips made Nicole’s insides burn, just like they had been during their two previous hugs. The two looked at each other for a moment more before Waverly walked over to the bench, stuffed her things in her bag, and slung it over her shoulder. “Ready to go decorate?” 

“With you, I’m ready for anything.” Nicole replied. She surprised herself with how meaningful it sounded. She meant it though. Every word. The two blushed at each other for a second more before heading out to the jeep. “Hey. Can I drive?” 

“Sure. Why not.” Waverly replied, throwing her bag in the back. The two climbed into the jeep and started off towards Nicole’s apartment. “Hey Nicole. I’m sorry if you felt uncomfortable with the whole hug thing. I just- it’s- hard… for me to get out of my… places. No one has ever been able to do it so easily and quickly. It usually takes Wyn a while.” 

“Hey. Don’t worry about it. I’m glad I was able to bring you back to me. I get what it’s like to be lost in your head sometimes. You don’t ever have to apologize for it.” 

“I know it’s just. Well… ya know… it was a bit awkward i guess. I mean we were both butt ass naked haha.” Waverly giggled at how silly the events actually were. Nicole laughed as well.

“Yeah it was for a second. But then…” she trailed off, not really wanting to finish the sentence. 

“But what?” 

“Well… then it was… nice.” Nicole looked over a Waverly to see her reaction. She thought it would be one of disgust, but it wasn’t. She was met with a warm smile. 

“It was.” Waverly said in agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So do you hate me😁


	5. The One Where She Needs Her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty here’s another chapter for you guys. Now that there are 5 released, i’ll be putting out a new chapter every Sunday so mark your calendars people. This chapter starts to delve into Waves a bit more at the end so if you’re triggered by ab*se or s*icide then probably stop reading this chapter at the guitar part. Enjoy everyone.

Nicole and Waverly arrived at Nicole and Eliza’s apartment, right as the moving truck got there. Nicole parked the jeep in a parking space and got out to go talk to the movers. Waverly went to the backside of the truck and grabbed a box with Nicole’s name on it and started up the stairs to the apartment. The two girls decided that Waverly would stay upstairs and sort through the boxes and what was in them, while Nicole, being the strong, cocky, softball player she is, helped the two movers bring up the boxes and then some small pieces of furniture like some bean bags and a futon that Eliza refused to leave behind.

Soon enough, the last box was brought up by a very sweaty looking Nicole. Her toned arms were flexing against the tightness of her shirt sleeves. That’s why she bought the shirt. You might think it’s weird or cocky but she just liked the way her biceps looked in tight sleeved shirts. No harm, no foul. Nicole set the box down beside Waverly where she was just about to open the first box for the kitchen to start organizing.

“That’s the last one.” Nicole said, out of breath from going up and down 3 flights of stairs who knew how many times.

“Ready to start unpacking?” Waverly asked excitedly. She loved unpacking, for some unknown reason. Maybe it was because she was in control putting her things where they belonged. She knew exactly where they were when she needed them and knew how to get them. 

“You seem strangely excited for a chore.” Nicole gave Waverly a side eye glance. 

“Hey! Stop giving me that look! I just like organizing things and giving them a place to live.” Waverly feigned fake offense. She started poking Nicole in the sternum, accentuating her point. Nicole was weirdly afraid of the small woman. She backed away as she said her peace while getting poked firmly in the chest.

“Ok ok. My bad. God you’re kind of fucking scary for a short person.” 

“A short person?!?!” Now Waverly was a little frustrated. She knew she was small, but she was sick of the comments made her way because of her height.

“Nonononono. You’re not short. You’re… average. I’m just… above… average.” Terrified. That’s what the redhead was at this point. 

“I know.” Waverly said, smiling big. She backed away from the redhead and opened the box set on the counter and began putting all of the utensils and dishes into their places as Nicole chugged two bottles of water and then started positioning the furniture the way she wanted it in the living area. 

After Waverley finished organizing the kitchen and Nicole finished moving the furniture, the two women walked over to Nicole’s room. What was once the barren room, was now filled with boxes upon boxes filled with clothes and god knows what else. 

“Alright. I’ll do posters and hang up clothes and you do folding. Good?” Waverly nodded and began folding the clothes that were in the boxes. After going through two boxes, Waverly landed on a rather long box. It was about 4 feet long and 1 foot wide. She opened the box to see that it was filled with bubble wrap. She dug out the bubble wrap and pulled out a case. It was a guitar case. Waverly opened the case and saw a Sunburst Fender guitar. The strap of the guitar read “HAUGHT”, and on the head of the guitar was engraved “JNH”. Waverly picked up the guitar from the case and examined it further. It was well used, as seen by all the scratches and wear on the guitar. Again, there was that pine wood smell. The same as the hoodie that she was wearing. The one given to her by Nicole.

“Who is “JNH”?” Waverly asked the redhead, who was hanging up a poster of Sooner, the Oklahoma mascot. The redhead turned around at the mention of the initials. She saw the guitar in Waverly’s hands and smiled slightly. 

“James Nicholas Haught. He’s my father. Was my father.” Nicole said solemnly. “He taught me how to play when i was a kid, so when he died, i kept it and played his favorite song to remember him.” 

“What happened to your father? If you don’t mind me asking, you don’t have to tell me though.” Waverly could tell it was a sensitive topic for the taller woman. She knew the feeling of being pressured into telling your story, so she didn’t want to pressure Nicole in any way. 

“I don’t mind. That car accident I told you about this morning, he was there. So was my mom and Eliza. He and my mother both died but me and Eliza made it through.” Nicole trusted Waverly. She knew she could for some reason. Maybe it was the way her eyes had something behind them. Like she had experienced a pain greater than most. Maybe Nicole trusted Waverly because she might have been through something similar to herself. Whatever the reason was for Nicole’s trust in the brunette, she knew it wasn’t put blindly. 

Waverly was silent for a moment. She just watched Nicole. It was a bit unnerving to be honest. After a minute, she walked up to the redhead and stood directly in front of her. Nicole saw a tear slide down her cheek as the smaller girl reached up with her right hand and placed it on the redhead's cheek. 

“How are you so strong?” Her voice was quiet and shaky. Suddenly, she found herself back in that basement where she found her mother laying on the ground. Dead. She was back in her old bedroom, being beaten by her drunken father. She was back in the girls locker room, being told by the other girls that her scars were ugly and disgusting. She was back in that house that caught fire. Back to standing outside as her childhood burned to the ground. Her life burnt to the ground. She burnt to the ground. 

Nicole saw the look in Waverly’s eyes. She was lost in her mind again. Nicole picked the girl up into a bridal style carry and sat her down on her bed. Nicole crouched down in front of her, putting her forehead on the lost girl's forehead. 

“Waves,” she grabbed her hands into her own. “come back to me. Please. Come back to me. I’m here.” After a minute, Waverly opened her eyes that she had shut after sitting down in the bed. 

“Nic… help me.” Her voice was strained and broken. She was in an inescapable prison, forever to be shackled with the chains of her past. She thought when she left Purgatory she would leave her past behind as well, but here she was still being tormented by the nightmares that came out to play during broad daylight instead of lurking in the shadows of her dreams. 

“Hey hey hey. I’m here. Come on Waves, please. Follow my voice. Come back to me. Please come back.” Nicole’s hands were now on either side of Waverly’s face. She was begging Waverly to come back to her. She was trying to pull her out. 

“Nic. I- i’m here.” Nicole pulled back her head and saw that Waverly’s eyes were now open. “I’m here.” Waverly lifted her hands to the redhead's tear stained cheek and pulled her forward so that their foreheads once again touched.

“Hi.” 

“Hi. Thank you. For bringing me back.” Waverly’s fingers tangled into red locks. 

“I’ll always bring you home. Always.” The brunette's arms wrapped around the neck of the redhead and pulled her into a tight hug, not ever wanting to let her go. Nicole didn’t want to either. She was afraid she’d lose the small girl again. “Are you ok?” 

“No. Not yet.” Waverly muffled into Nicole’s neck. Nicole got up and sat in the bed, the other girl's head pressed into her chest. “But i will be.”

“Do you need me?” A simple question that meant more to Waverly than everything in the world. No one had ever asked her that before. Not even Wynonna. Another tear fell down her cheek as she nodded into the warmth of Nicole’s chest. “Then you have me.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short, i know but next chapter will be mostly a flash back for Waverly so get ready.


	6. The One With Elton John

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we doing updates on Mondays? Alright that works, totally didn’t just forget to update. Could be me.

Waverly was only 5 the first time her father hit her. She came home with her mother and as her mom started to make dinner, Waverly went up to her bedroom. She didn’t think anything of it when her father came in. He was considerably drunk. Wobbling this way and that. It was only when he grabbed her by the wrist and slapped her hard in the face that she realized something was wrong. He over and over again, slapped and spanked and hit her. A child. I know what you’re thinking. How can anyone in the right mind ever do something like this? Well, he wasn’t in the right mind, even when he was sober. Words were thrown her way. Claims of “Bastard Child” and “That whore cheated and i ended up with you”. She didn’t understand when she was that age that it wasn’t her fault, but for a while, she thought it was. No one ever knew. She never told anyone. 

Waverly was 8 when Wynonna found her in the bathroom crying, bloodied and clothes torn. She demanded that Waverly tell her what happened, and she did. That night, Wynonna was so enraged that she put a rag in an almost empty bottle of whiskey and lit it on fire. She threw the bottle in the living room, got Waverly out, and left her father. She was only 10 at the time and it seemed like a reasonable idea. Ward Earp burned in the house fire started by Wynonna. He was passed out drunk in his bedroom. Their mother was still at work. 

After the fire, Michelle bought another house with everything that Ward had. She worked overtime every night and every weekend. She was never home, trying to have enough money to raise her children. 

Waverly was 16 when Michelle couldn’t do it anymore. She was so tired and overworked. Her demise is that if suiside. She put the barrel to her head and pulled the trigger, holding onto a picture of her girls for dear life. Her head was down it the floor as the blood spilled out over the basement. When Waverly got home, the power went out, so she went to the basement to get some candles. She never even saw her mother. It wasn’t until she tripped over her lifeless corpse that she realized why it smelt of metal. She landed in the pool of blood, next to her mother. She screamed with everything she had in her. 

When Wynonna came down the stairs, she puked all over the floor. The police were there within the hour as Waverly sat on the porch, drenched in her own mother’s blood. She was quiet. Just staring off to an unknown world where she wasn’t the product of an affair. Where her mother wasn’t lying lifeless in the basement. Where she was happy. 

  
  


***

  
  


“In the last two years, i’ve tried so hard to be ok. But i’m not ok. And that’s ok… i hope.” Waverly finished her story to Nicole. They were still sitting on the bed in Nicole’s room. It took Waverly about an hour for her to stop crying. When she did, the words flowed out of her.

“It’s perfectly ok to not be ok, Waves. Thank you. For trusting me with your story.” Nicole couldn’t help but be so enamored by the smaller girl. She was so incredibly strong. Stronger than she knows. “You're so incredibly strong, Waverly.” 

“Oh please. You’re the strong one. You lost people you actually cared for. All I lost was my abuser and a woman who never gave two shits about me.” 

“I hope one day you see how resilient you are. They were still your family.”

“Yeah well, now my family is you… you all. Yeah, like all of you. Not just you that would be insane. You know cause we just met.” Waverly chuckled at her own mistake. It was anything but humor filled.

“It’s not insane. You mean a lot to me, Waves. I don’t know why, but i know that if it came down to it, i would give my life for yours. You’re a part of my family now which means you’re stuck with me.” 

“I am completely and utterly ok with that.” Waverly finally lifted her head from Nicole’s chest that was clad with a now damp shirt. Nicole reached up with her right hand and placed her palm into Waverly’s left cheek. Waverly melted into her palm and closed her eyes again to relish in the feeling of being so incredibly comfortable with another person. 

“Good. Cause i’m never letting you go.” Waverly opened her eyes. There in front of her was a kind and caring woman who liked her for her unapologetically. She looked at the smaller girl like she was the world and more. In that moment, neither could help the distance that closed between them as their lips were just barely brushed together. But of course, Eliza came home at that very moment and slammed the door behind her, snapping the two girls apart.

“Hey! My futon!” Eliza screamed. Nicole and Waverly got up and walked into the common room. There was Eliza, circling her futon like a vulture, seeing if there was any damage. “Awwweee my poor baby. All alone in that truck in the middle of Bumblefuck nowhere. It’s ok. You’re with mommy again.” The girl cooed at the piece of furniture, if it can even be called that. 

“So weird.” Waverly whispered to Nicole. 

“Yeah. Tell me about it.” Nicole whispered back. Both erupted into a fit of giggles as they watched Eliza struggle to push her “baby” into her room.

“Think you two dick weeds can help a little instead of giggling like a bunch of school girls?” Eliza said, frustrated that every time she tried to push the futon, she only pushed herself backward. The three girls pushed the futon into Eliza’s room. 

“Hey. What’s with the two other rooms? Do you have more secret friends that you’re hiding?” Waverly asked the redhead. 

“Heh, no. There for the friends we make here actually. If anyone is ever willing to move in with this ass that is.” Nicole put Eliza in a chokehold from behind and messed her hair up. 

“Hey! Stop! I’m not the ass, you are!” 

“Sisters.” Waverly shook her head as she watched the two play fight. “Come on Nic. We need to finish your room.” Waverly and Nicole walked back into Nicole’s room and they got back to work. “You do know that i’m gonna make you play for me, right?” Waverly asked, picking up the guitar again.

“Ahhhh I had a feeling.” Nicole smiled and looked at the three posters she had pinned up so far. The Sooner, an Elton John poster with Elton looking out to the crowd wearing his bedazzled baseball outfit, and an Elvis Presley poster from when he enlisted in the army. 

“Old soul?” 

“Yeah. It's weird, isn’t it.” 

“Well if it is, then i’m weird too. God, I love this photo of him.” Waverly pointed to the photo of Elton. “He’s looking out at these thousands of people that are all here to hear him. He holds the entire stadium in the palm of his hand. I want to be able to do that one day. Think about it. You’re out there on the field, everyone screaming your name. They’re here to see you play. It sounds so…” 

“Amazing?”

“Breathtaking.” 

“Yeah, it is.” Nicole wasn’t looking at the picture though. She wasn’t talking about it either. She was talking about the breathtaking wonder right in front of her. 

_ I’m in for some deep shit,  _ was all Nicole could think.


	7. The One Where She’s Hot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hola amigos! Its Sunday which means another update for you whores. jkjk i love you guys. 
> 
> Ahem i interrupt this note to bring you my gay panic over the latest episode of WE
> 
> AHHHH OMG DOM LOOKED SO FUCKING HOT IN EPISODE 7 LIKE RUN ME OVER AND DONT EVEN GET ME STATED ON HORNY HAUGHT OMG 🥵🥵🥵
> 
> now back to your regularly scheduled note
> 
> Anyways enjoy and since i’m feeling nice, i’ll post two chapters today so be on the look out for that 👀

It took until 6 for Nicole, with the help of Waverly, more like Waverly with the help of Nicole. By 6 they had Nicole’s room and the common room and kitchen organized with all the boxes stuffed away in a closet somewhere. Eliza had yet to even touch her boxes. She was sleeping on her futon, which couldn’t have been comfortable. 

“Hey. We’ve still got an hour until we go to the field to practice. Do you wanna just go ahead and go and then get dinner after?” Waverly asked, looking over into brown orbes. 

“Yeah sure. I’ll go change in my room and you can take the bathroom.” Just then, Eliza came running from her room and sped into the only bathroom in the apartment. “Never mind.” 

“I can just change with you. If you don’t mind i won’t look or anything i just you know there are a lot of boxes in the other rooms and there is no space to move and- we don’t have to i’ll just-“ Nicole just laughed as Waverly continued to ramble. 

“Hey it’s cool. We can both change in my room. I mean, it’s not like we don’t change in a crowded locker room for a living. Come on, i’m starving and the sooner we get dressed and get to the field, the sooner we can get done and i can eat.” The two women walked downstairs to the laundry room to get their uniforms that they put in the wash after practice earlier and then walked back to the apartment to Nicole’s room.

Both girls turned away from each other and began changing out of their clothes. It was only when Waverly heard Nicole fall that she turned around. Nicole was on the ground on her back, only a sports bra on her top and boxers on her bottom. Her softball pants were half on. 

“Did you just fall trying to put on your pants?” Waverly tried her hardest not to giggle. To be fair, it was really hard for Nicole not to start giggling herself.

“No…. ugh yes.” 

“Need help?” 

“Please.”

Waverly walked over to Nicole where she was still on the ground. She was only in her bra and underwear herself but had completely forgotten to be honest. Waverly grabbed both of the redheads hands and pulled her back to her feet. Nicole stumbled a bit and fell into the smaller girl. Waverly tried to hold her up, but her attempt was fruitless as she fell back on the bed, Nicole falling on top of her. 

“Shit sorry.” Nicole said, laying on top of Waverly. She lifted herself up by her arms, one hand on each side of the brunette’s head. Their faces were close enough to be breathing in each other’s air. So close that their nose brushed together. 

“Ow.” Waverly started laughing harder than she ever has before. Nicole followed suit. The two just laughed together, almost bare bodies pressed together. Nicole bent her head down and rested it on Waverly’s shoulder and tried to catch her breath. Waverly wrapped her arms around the taller girl's waist, also trying desperately to catch her breath between giggles. 

Finally after a while, Nicole lifted her head again and looked at the girl beneath her. All laughs had stopped. Only bright smiles were left in their wake. One of Waverly’s hands drifted up to Nicole’s face and cupped her cheek. 

“You cut yourself when you fell.” She said as she brushed her thumb on the scrap on Nicole’s cheek bone. 

“Is it bad?” the other whispered. She could feel the sting in her cheek and the trickle of blood falling down her cheek and into Waverly’s palm.

“No, but i will need to clean it and put a bandaid on it.” Waverly suddenly flipped the two on the bed. “Put on your pants and meet me in the living room.” Waverly got off of Nicole. For a moment she didn’t move. She couldn’t even breathe. 

“Uhh w- what about my shirt?” 

“Don’t bother. I don’t want to get blood on it while cleaning the cut.” 

Nicole, after collecting all of the unholy thoughts running through her mind, pulled her pants on without falling again and walked out of the room with her shirt in hand. She saw Waverly by the kitchen counter, completely decked out in her uniform, with the first aid box in her hands.

“Alright Haught, stop staring and get over here so i can clean this.” said Waverly. Nicole blushed a deeper crimson darker than her hair. Slowly, the redhead walked over to the kitchen and hopped up onto the counter to sit. Waverly slid in between the latter’s legs, getting so close that they were almost pressed together. “I’m not gonna lie, this is gonna sting.” 

“Just do it. Don’t cou- OWWWWW!” Nicole yelled out a bit as Waverly applied the alcohol pad to the cut under Nicole’s left eye. 

“Stop being a baby. Thought you were a big, hot, strong softball player.”

“Yeah well when you pu-“ Nicole’s eyes went big as she ran what the girl between her legs had just said through her mind. Hot.  _ Hot.Omgomgomgdidshejustcallmehot!?!?!  _ Yeah it’s safe to say her brain was getting the blue screen of death. It took Waverly a few seconds to realize why Nicole suddenly paused. When she did, her eyes went even wider than Nicole’s.  _ Holyshitholyshitholyshitdidijustcallherhot!?!?!  _ Ok, two blue screens of death, right? Alright, just counting to make sure. Both of their cheeks were flushed a deep colour as they just ran the same words over and over in their heads. 

“Ahem uh yeah. Anyways… what were you thinking for dinner tonight?” Waverly tried her best to make the situation less awkward and forget about it but by the sly smirk crossing Nicole’s face, she wasn’t gonna let Waverly live this down.

“Did you, Waverly Earp, just say I was hot?” Waverly hated how attractive Nicole’s smirk was on her plump lips. It made her want to kiss or slap it away. Either one would do but she wanted to do one more than the other. 

“I- i mean… it IS your name, right? Soooooo in th- theory i’m not wrong.”

“Uh huh. Yeah, totally.” Nicole chuckled. How could she go from blue screen brain to teasing this beautiful girl who was still between her legs. “As far as dinner goes, I'm good with anything, but I did hear that a new vegan place just opened up not far from campus.”

“That sounds amazing.” With that, Waverly placed the band-aid, a pink hello kitty one, over the cleaned cut. “Awe you look like a little kid again.” 

“Ha ha. Very funny. It was the only ones that Walmart had left.” 

“Well i think it looks adorable.” Waverly leaned up a bit and pressed a kiss to Nicole’s left cheek, just under the bandage. “Come on. Let’s go.” Nicole let out a breathe she hadn’t realized she was holding in before sliding off the counter and heading out the door. “Nic. You forgetting something?”

“Umm no i don’t think so.” Nicole felt for the backpack straps on her shoulders. She felt the bat sticking out of the top. She had on her cleats. What’s missing? Waverly just looked down at the taller girl’s abdomen. Ohhhhhh. “Shit my shirt.” she went back in the door and grabbed the jersey from the counter where it had been left. “Thanks.” Nicole walked downstairs, shirt in hand. Waverly just watched as she did so.

“Not shy to show off those lady killers I see.” Waverly mumbled to herself, referring to the toned abs and biceps, before walking downstairs behind Nicole. 


	8. The One Where Someone Gets Mad And Someone Cries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like i promised, two chapters. Umm please don’t hurt me if the title of this chapter subjects anything. hehe enjoy

The first two weeks of practice were over now and today was their first game. Nicole and Eliza’s grandparents came to support the girls and to finally meet the new team that their babies were playing with. The most important one they were looking at though was Waverly. Nicole hadn’t shut up about the girl that captivated her every waking moment since the first call she had with her grandparents since leaving for college. It made both of the seniors happy to see that Nicole was interested in someone new instead of still wallowing on about Shae, her ex-girlfriend and ex-pitcher. The breakup almost put Nicole in after Shae left the team. Her numbers were considerably low that year and her mental health took a steep decline, so to say that the Haught grandparents were happy for her, would be an understatement. 

The game went off without a hitch. With Nicole and Waverly as a power duo, they were unstoppable, only giving away two hits that were caught by outfielders. It was a shutout. After the games, Nicole and Eliza grabbed their stuff and didn’t even bother changing or showering before going to see their grandparents. 

“Look Hank, our babies, all grown up. Can you believe it?” Pat said.

“Yes, sweetheart. I can believe it.” Hank replied. 

“Pops! Grams!” Both girls yelled as they all four hugged each other together.

“Hey slugger. Speedy, you look good. Keeping out of trouble?” 

“Speedy?” Rosita questioned, coming up behind the Haught (and Shapiro) reunion.

“Damn straight. This girl is the fastest base runner i’ve ever seen.” 

“Hey! I’m fast too.” Nicole whined. 

“Oh you are sweetie.” Pat said, placing a kiss on her grand baby’s cheek. 

“So, you must be Rosita. I’m Hank. It’s nice to put a face to the person who stole my grandkid’s heart.” Hank pulled Rosita into a hug, followed by Pat. Since that night after the dinner, Rosita and Eliza had been seeing each other. Eliza really hadn’t thought of herself as the relationship type. That is, until she met Rosita. The rest of the team started to make their way to them as they pulled away. Nicole felt a small hand on her back and knew it was Waverly from the scent of wildflowers dusting up into her nose. The smell alone made her smile as she turned to see Waverly still in her dirt covered uniform from sliding into home during the 5th inning. 

“Hey, Waves. There are some people I want you to meet.” Nicole placed her own hand on Waverly’s lower back, in between her backpack. 

“Ah, Waverly! So nice to meet you! Nicole here won’t keep quiet about you.” Pat said. Nicole’s cheeks went bright red at the statement. 

“Oh really now. It’s nice to meet you too.” Waverly put out her hand to shake Nicole’s grandmother’s hand but was pulled into a hug instead.

“This is a hugging family, girl. Get used to it.” Pat said while pulling away from the brunette.

“Noted. And you must be Hank. It’s nice to meet you sir.” Waverly turned to Hank. He pulled her into a hug as well.

“Oh please, call me Hank or pops. Sir makes me feel old.”

“Sweetie, you are old.” said his wife as the two pulled away. 

“Yes but I don't need a reminder. The gray hair and arthritis is plenty enough. Hell, i might have to retire soon.”

“What. You can’t retire, pops. You the best damn fire captain Columbus has seen.” Eliza whined.

“Yes yes i know. But soon i won’t be able to keep up. Someone has to take over.”

“Well, let’s hope that day comes later rather sooner.” Nicole replied, giving her grandfather a sad look.

“Come on girls. Let’s get some food in you. On us.” Pat said, taking her husband’s hand and walking toward the lot where all of their cars were. 

***

The dinner was amazing. The conversation flowed, as did the laughter. Waverly sat beside Nicole, Nicole’s grandparents across from them. They were pressed together at the side to make enough room for the whole team at the table. 

“Look at those two. Think they’re gonna get together soon, Hank.”

“I don’t doubt it for a minute, hun. The question is, when will Nic get the courage to ask her out.” Hank told his wife. That really was the million dollar question wasn’t it. Something that perplexed the whole team. They all saw how the two acted around each other. Everyone knew they were in love, except for Nicole and Waverly. Ironic, right?

***

It had been two months. Two months since starting college. Two months since starting one of the best softball seasons Nicole had ever played. Two months since meeting Waverly. 

The team was doing amazing so far. Except for today. Today, they were in Washington playing. It was a hard game that was close the entire time. What really made it hard though was the fact that Nicole’s ex, Shae, was the new pitcher for Washington. Nicole didn’t know until she walked on the field and saw her in the dugout. She had been off her game the entire game which led to them losing by one run. It put the whole team in a damper, which led to them going to the bar in Washington for a pick-me-up. 

Waverly had tried to get Nicole to talk to her at the game, but Nicole shut herself away and refused to talk about anything but the game. So, Waverly was determined to get the redhead to talk hopefully with a bit of liquid courage in both of their systems. 

“Hey. Are you ok? You won’t talk to me and you were all over the place today.” Waverly sat beside Nicole at the bar, jumping up a bit to get into the stool. 

“Yeah i’m fine. I’m sorry, I know I let you down. I let the team down.” Nicole took a sip of the whiskey she had in her hand, letting the liquid burn her throat. 

“You didn’t let down the team and you definitely don’t let down me. Just, talk to me Cole. I want to help.” 

“You can’t help, Waverly. This isn’t something you can fix. I’m not some project you can just fix.” Nicole wasn’t mad at Waverly, though that’s what it was coming off as. She was mad at herself for letting Shae get to her. She was mad at Shae for being there. 

“I know. God, I know Nicole. But I'm your friend. You can tell me anything.” 

“Are you my friend? Cause if your friend, then you would walk away and drop it.” 

“Ok. I will.”

“Fine!”

“Fine!” Waverly walked away and left Nicole to wallow in her own self pity. She didn’t notice until she sat down at a booth by herself, that she was crying. She quickly wiped away the tears in her eyes and finished her drink. 

Back at the bar, Nicole was ordering another whiskey after downing the rest of the contents in her glass. As she took a sip, someone walked up beside her. 

“Just go away, Waves. I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Will you talk to me then?” said a voice. Nicole instantly knew the voice. Shae. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” 

“Hoping that you’ll talk to me.” Nicole looked over at the tall, dark skinned girl. “How are you?”

“Amazing, thanks for asking.” Shae didn’t miss the sarcasm in her words. 

“Can i buy you a drink?” Shae asked. 

“Why the fuck not.” A sentence Nicole would regret. The two got considerably drunk together. After an hour of just drinking and shots after shots, Shae got up from the stool where she sat and pulled Nicole off of her stool. 

“Let’s dance.” Shae said, pulling Nicole to the crowd of sweaty, drunk people on the dance floor. Against Nicole’s better judgment, she danced with her. She let the alcohol take control of her body as Shae danced with her, or more like on her. Waverly, who was still sitting in a booth alone, saw them and ran out of the bar, tears once again filling her eyes. She called an uber and went back to the hotel where the team was staying. 

Nicole saw her run out, out of the corner of her eye. She knew this was wrong. She knew she would regret it, but she wanted to feel something. She needed to feel something, and with the alcohol in the system, she was fruitless to stop herself. Or for that matter, Shae. But when she saw Waverly run out with tears on her cheeks, she looked to Shae and pushed her away. 

“What the fuck Shae.” 

“What. I’m just dancing.” Shae put her arms around Nicole’s neck and tried to lean up to kiss her. 

“Stop, Shae. We’re done. You ended it, remember. You moved away and broke up with me.”

“And what if it was a mistake?” Asked Shae.

“It wasn’t. Goodbye, Shae.” Nicole pulled away from the girl and ran out of the bar, hoping to catch Waverly. She was too late as she saw the car drive away. “Shit.” Nicole called her own uber and went back to the hotel.

When she got there, she went up to the room she was sharing with Waverly and knocked on the door. Waverly got up from her place on the bed and opened the door. 

“Hi. Can I come in?” 

“Why? So you can yell at me again?” Waverly wiped her cheeks and sniffled. 

“No. I was hoping I could apologize. I shouldn’t have snapped. It was wrong.”

“Yeah it was.”

“Can i please come in?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I just- i need to be alone right now. I’m sorry.” Waverly started to close the door.

“Waves, wait.” It was too late. The door was closed. Nicole heard her fall back into the bed. Nicole slid her back against the door and sat down against it. She let sleep overcome her and she fell asleep. 

Nicole was woken up when her head suddenly hit the ground. Waverly had opened the door and she fell back to the ground. 

“Ow. Shit.” 

“Sorry i didn’t- did you sleep out here?” 

“Well yeah since you wouldn’t let me in last night.”

“I- come on. We have to drive back to Oklahoma.” Waverly slung her bag on her shoulder and walked down the hall. Nicole packed her things and went down to the parking lot. Nicole and Waverly had driven in Waverly’s jeep together. Nicole was hoping she could hitch a ride with Wynonna or someone but when she got down there, all of her teammates' cars were already pulling off, leaving her with Waverly. 

“Come on. The faster we leave, the less time we have to be stuck in the car together.” Waverly said to Nicole as she threw her stuff in the back. 

“Alright fine. But i’m driving.” 

“Fine.” Waverly threw Nicole the keys to the jeep and the two started off on their journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I SAID DONT HURT ME *ducks at thrown plant*
> 
> HEY! NOT THE SUCCULENTS! OFF! LIMITS!
> 
> i’m sincerely sorry but things always get worse before they get better so ehhhhh


End file.
